Dear colleagues,
I have just deposited an entry on the ccp4-wiki that summarizes input/ideas
on dealing with 'sticky crystals'. Please feel free to edit it further as
necessary.
http://strucbio.biologie.uni-konstanz.de/ccp4wiki/index.php/Crystals#Crystal
_handling
best wishes
Savvas
Hi Savvas,
If the very good suggestions you have already got from the ccp4bb do not
help, try crystallization with agarose as an additive. Crystals form
inside the very soft gel and they are hold in place by this meshwork.
So, they are mechanically protected and do not fall down onto the bottom
of
I second Chris's suggestions. These have worked well for me in the
past. You only need a very thin layer of the grease (i.e. keep
wiping until its almost completely gone) and it usually has no affect
on the crystallization.
Jeff
On Jan 27, 2009, at 3:51 PM, Christopher Colbert wrote:
Dear colleagues,
we have been growing crystals of a protein complex in sitting-drop geometry
that stick to the bottom of the drop remarkably well. It's as if they are
glued onto the plastic. This makes crystal handling next to impossible
without destroying the crystals. We have tried whiskers,
Put a small piece of dry ice on the opposite side of the plastic from the
crystal. Perhaps the difference in thermal expansive coefficient will let
the crystal(s) break away. Don't overdo it though. This is a trick that
Gary Gilliland taught me.
Jim
On Wed, 28 Jan 2009, Savvas Savvides
Subject: [ccp4bb] sticky crystals
Dear colleagues,
we have been growing crystals of a protein complex in sitting-drop geometry
that stick to the bottom of the drop remarkably well. It's as if they are
glued onto the plastic. This makes crystal handling next to impossible
without destroying
If you have good and bad crystals in the same drop, I've had success
pushing a crummy crystal into a good crystal and having it release that
way.
Additionally, once I realized this was going to be a long term problem, I
started coating the sitting drop depressions with a thin layer of vacuum
Suggestions so far have been good ones. However, the MiTeGen microtools kit:
http://mitegen.com/products/microtools/microtools_kit1.shtml
comes with a MicroSaw, which is a 10-micron thick kapton saw that is
intended for this purpose. That is, you don't pry the crystal off the
surface, but
-
From: Savvas Savvides
To: CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 3:05 PM
Subject: [ccp4bb] sticky crystals
Dear colleagues,
we have been growing crystals of a protein complex in sitting-drop geometry
that stick to the bottom of the drop remarkably well. It's
Hi Savvas,
You can collect data on your crystal still in the drop, on our beamline
(FIP-BM30A at the ESRF) if you are interested. Provided space group is
not P1 We do that routinely.
Let me know if you are interested.
JL
Savvas Savvides wrote:
Dear
colleagues,
we
have
Hi All
One more method that I heard about but never tried is to put the plate
on a sonication bath and to let for a short sonication pulse. That
should vibrate some liquid under your crystal.
Raz
--
Raz Zarivach, Ph.D.
Department of
Most obvious (maybe you did it already but that is not clear from your
email), why not try seeding?
- J. -
Savvas Savvides wrote:
Dear colleagues,
we have been growing crystals of a protein complex in sitting-drop
geometry that stick to the bottom of the drop remarkably well. It’s as
if
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